We were the Kings and Queens of Yesterday
by Winter Midnight
Summary: A student at Hogwarts finally unravels the mystery of the ghost on the Defence against the dark arts stairwell


We were the Kings and Queens of Yesterday 

The storm whistled and echoed throughout the castle as the heavy rain pounded on the ancient stained glass windows. The dark sky of night obliterated the light usually found in the corridors of Hogwarts, radiating warmth and hope. Now there was only darkness and desolation.

A soft light moved at a steady pace amongst the darkness, the _lumos_ spell providing a sense of comfort in the storm seized school of witchcraft and wizardry for one student. James Potter, son of Harry and Ginny Potter had made sure that his father's old invisibility cloak covered him and part of his wand as he skulked along the shadow laden corridors.

"For Merlin's sake it must be around here somewhere!" he groaned making a sweeping motion with his wand so that the light illuminated the floor. No parchment graced the floor with its presence; no writing appeared just out of his vision indicating that his missing essays were nearby. With a loud, frustrated groan that was swallowed up by the storm, James trudged on. He had been so sure it was near here! "When I see Lynnetta and Angelo again…" the boy trailed off running a hand through his unruly hair as the memories of earlier swirled around his head.

"_C'mon, let me see!" Lynnetta Weasley, daughter of Ron and Lavender Weasley exclaimed eyeing up James's bag as though it contained the secrets of life. Well, considering what she wanted from it that view would be fairly accurate James smirked as the thought echoed through his mind. "Hurry up man, that whining is giving me a headache." Angelo Zabini, son of Blaise and Luna Zabini moaned massaging his head with his fingers. James laughed. "Alright, let me just…ah, here you go" he proclaimed after scavenging through his bag and pulling out a very long potions essay, handing it to Lynnetta who grasped the parchment greedily. "Oh thank you thank you thank you!" she squealed throwing herself onto him in a hug. Unfortunately, James schoolbag was still open and various pieces of parchment containing various important essays flew effortlessly out of the bag and scattered around the corridor. _

James sighed. After that all the students had been herded to their next lessons, and the last he had seen of his painstakingly written essays, they were being trampled by inconsiderate students. James raised his wand in order to make the light stretch a bit further. A stairwell loomed up ahead, leading to the Defence against the Dark Arts classroom. James sighed again. There was a very strong possibility that all his essays were scattered on that stairwell. It was what occupied the stairwell that was the problem. He eyed the stair way for awhile contemplating whether it was worth it. A barrage of rain pounding against the castle and the unearthly thunder almost made him turn around. But something stopped him at the last minute, _I've already come all this way, and she doesn't bother anyone, doesn't do much of anything really but sit there…_ with renewed determination, James began making his way cautiously up the stairs.

The stairwell was well known throughout Hogwarts. A ghost unlike any other took up residence on the stairs. She sat on the window ledge, looking out through the stained glass window, and that was pretty much all she did. She didn't talk to anyone, didn't initiate or continue conversation, didn't help, she just…sat. And that was what made her so creepy. James suppressed a shudder at the thought. He'd seen many students speed up and hurry by the window, himself included. But this time, he'd have to force himself to go slowly.

With his wand ahead of him, James let his gaze roam across the stair ledges, searching for the pieces of parchment. He had let the resident ghost slip to the back of his mind, until he saw her at her window. She wasn't doing anything different, still staring out that Merlin forsaken window. He could see the rain hammering against the glass, and the colours of the stained glass didn't make up any shape or pattern as far as he could tell. In fact, this window was probably one of the more boring ones in Hogwarts. He flinched as the rain suddenly increased its pace, but she didn't. Curiosity began niggling at the back of his mind; _I wonder what makes that window so special_ he wondered before shrugging off the thought. He was here to find his essays, it was better not to get distracted.

James scanned the floor again, edging gradually up the stairs and ignoring the presence of the ghost. Once he passed her he let out a deep sigh and pressed his foot against the next stair. "I know why you're here." A soft voice whispered through the darkness, discernable despite the storm and causing James to whirl around. The ghost moved her head to look at him. "You can take that thing off you know. It'd be much nicer to see you and its rather strange conversing with something you cannot see." James's eyes widened. The ghost of the DADA stairwell had spoken, to him! Cautiously, he slipped off the cloak and placed it over one arm, manovering his wand as he did. The girl ghost had resumed her staring out the window. James stood awkwardly, unsure of what to do now she had gone back to her silence. "You can come closer you know." The girl said amusement evident in her tone but she didn't look away from the window. James swallowed and edged a little closer. "You said you knew why I was here?" he questioned softly. Silently, the girl ghost reached down beside her and picked up a pile of parchment. Wordlessly she held her hand out for him to take them. He did so, softly pulling them from her grasp. Flicking through the papers, James's eyes widened again. These were his essays, the ones he'd been searching for! He swallowed in disbelief. She had gotten these for him? Why? "Thank you." He whispered, she nodded her head in acknowledgement. "But may I ask why you gathered these for me?"

The ghost smiled. "You are a good student James Potter. You didn't deserve having to write each one out again. I knew you'd come looking for them eventually. So I picked them up for you." Taken aback, James didn't say anything for a few seconds. He didn't realise that she knew his name, and she'd left her precious window for him just because he was a good student? Forgetting his initial fear of her and embracing his curiosity James asked the question "Why is that window so important?"

She smiled again. "I can see him coming from the window."

James frowned. "Who can you see?"

The ghost's face saddened for a moment. "One who died for me."

James blinked. There was so much more to her then they'd all thought. "Why did he die for you?" James asked softly reaching out a comforting hand to put on her shoulder only to pull it back at the last moment. After all, she wouldn't feel it. "He died for me because he loved me. But it was in vain. I stayed by his body crying. And the killing curse hit me from behind." He thought that if she could, the ghost would be crying, she sounded so sad.

"Was it…was it the war that you died in?" he asked tentivintly. After all, the ghosts of Hogwarts came from all different time periods and according to Headmistress McGonagall this girl was the most recent addition. "Yes." She said simply and offered no more. James took the opportunity to review the conversation in his head. The ghost sat at the window to see a guy coming, one who died for her because he loved her and she died after him? Alright, but there was a slight problem. No one had ever seen another ghost from the window, only her who sat here. "So you wait here for him? At the window?" he asked trying to unravel the mystery that he'd suddenly been privileged to solve. The ghost nodded her head, ethereal curls bouncing as she did. A feeling of sadness overcame him then. The poor ghost had endured true horrors if she had died in the war, and she sat here day in day out waiting for something that never came. Maybe he could tell her there were no other ghosts coming for her. Her lover had probably already moved on to wherever it was the dead resided. "Ghost," he began then cringed. He didn't even know her name. "I don't think he'll come. You've been waiting for a long time, and he's probably already moved on. So I think, that maybe you should come away from the window, socialise with the other ghosts or something." He watched her face preparing for the hurt he'd probably caused her. What he didn't expect was a smile to bloom across her face, as though she had a secret. "You're a good man James Potter. But trust me he'll come. He hasn't failed me yet; just stay with me for a little longer and you'll see him too. Please, just for a few more minutes." She begged, her eyes filled with desperation. James sighed and nodded his head. He could do that for her. "Alright I'll stay."

Ten minutes later, the booming chimes of a clock contained in the Defence against the Dark Arts classroom signalled the fall of midnight. James looked at the ghost and noticed the excitement she'd suddenly embraced. She was pressed up against the glass, nearly bouncing up and down in her seat. "James! Look! Look! He's here! Come see!" She'd reached out her arm to drag him up from the sitting position he'd taken up on the floor, but her arm passed through him. She didn't seem to notice though. James dragged himself up off the floor and gazed out the rain soaked window. "See? There!" She pointed, happiness bubbling in her tone. Following the direction her finger pointed in, James couldn't believe what he was seeing.

A transparent man stalked across the grounds, heading in the direction of the window. The rain passed straight through him, but the way he walked, James couldn't help thinking that the way he walked and carried himself, it was though he had a purpose and nothing was going to get in his way. "See? I told you! He'll come to see me in a few seconds; he just has to get here first." James smiled at her excitement. It was the liveliest and most interactive he'd seen her. A question suddenly occurred to him as he waited with her for the other ghost to arrive. "Why here? Why this stairwell?"

"Oh that's simple!" She exclaimed, swivelling round to face him. "This is where we first confessed our love to each other." She grinned. James opened his mouth to ask another question but before he could do so, the male ghost had strolled up the stairs. He appraised James coolly, but dismissed him quickly. Then the new ghost turned to the girl, and a smile broke out across his features. He opened his translucent arms, and James watched the window ghost actually leap from the ledge and into the open arms. He watched as they smiled at each other and just held each other. And for the first time, James realised he was witnessing evidence that love survived death. He smiled softly, still clutching the essays in his hand. It seemed as though the ghosts had forgotten him, too wrapped up in each other. Understandable considering they waited all day, every day for this moment.

Sheepishly, James coughed clearing his throat. The ghosts turned to him, one with a smile, one with an indifferent gaze. "Told you." The girl smiled.

"Yes you did." James grinned back. "I'm going to head back to the dorms now, leave you pair to it. Thanks for gathering the essays." She nodded, and he moved around them to travel back down the stairs. "Wait." A voice commanded, before James could get too far. He turned to discover the male ghost looking down at him, still with the girl ghost wrapped in his embrace. "Thank you for keeping her company." He stated his eyes concealing the emotion that should have accompanied the words. But James understood. The guy ghost obviously knew how she spent her days. How all she did was wait. "For this favour, you can ask the question you were going to before I arrived." The words came in a sudden rush, as James already felt like he was intruding on their precious moments. "What are your names?"

"Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger."

* * *

"Hey man, did you find your essays?" Angelo asked slapping a hand on James's back.

"Yeah, they were all together actually." He replied smiling slightly. He hadn't told anyone of his encounter with the ghost of the DADA stairwell, or Hermione as he had discovered upon leaving. It had been two days since the incident and James had visited the school library the day after the encounter. He recognised the names the ghosts had given when he left. They were two of the most famous wizarding names in the world, and it had made him feel even worse that all the students in school were generally creeped out by Hermione's staring, when she'd died to ensure they could live the life's they were all leading.

Lynnetta's voice brought him back to the present. "Well that's good. Hey, what have we got next?"

"Erm…Defence against the Dark arts" Angelo groaned. Lynetta shivered.

"We'll just hurry past. Same rule as always, she ignores us, we ignore her." She swung her bag over her shoulder determinedly.

"I feel sorry for the first years. I remember my first few weeks walking past that window. Gave me the shivers every time, still does." Angelo said rubbing his arms. The trio reached the bottom of the stairwell. "Well here goes nothing." Lynetta sighed before quickening her pace. They hurried up the stairs, but James slowed down when he came to the window. Hermione sat there as she always had, but this time James could make out the eagerness in her eyes as she waited. "You coming or what?" Angelo's voice echoed down from the top of the stairs.

"Yeah I'll be right there!" James yelled back, and as he headed up the stairs to the classroom, he could make out a small smile gracing Hermione's face.

* * *

_I've read Dramione for years but never actually wrote one, now after this foray into Dramione I think I'll be writing up all my other ideas for this couple. Hope you enjoyed it._


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